The School From Hell - DFA 7
by Dyna Dee
Summary: Duo's having trouble in a highly regimented private school, and it's up to the other pilots to rescue him.
1. Default Chapter

Synopsis: Duo gets into trouble in a highly regimented school and it's up to the other pilots to rescue him.

The School from Hell

by: Dyna Dee

warnings: mild language

Part 1

Heero reached out to grab hold of the long brown braid that belonged to the boy in front of him. He growled in frustration as he missed by a fraction of an inch as Duo took two giant leaps ahead in preparation of launching himself up and off the linoleum covered floor to tap the metal light fixture with his finger tips, sending it swinging in the air. This one was the third in a row down the long school corridor now filled with military-style uniformed male students shuffling to their next class. 

There was something definitely disturbing about the atmosphere in this private school, Heero thought, and not for the first time. Of all the schools he'd been in, this was the only one in which the transfer between classes was eerily quiet. The shuffle of bodies seemed to be the main source of any sound and an occasional low murmur of whispering.

Duo turned to give him a silly grin at his latest accomplishment. Shooting him a warning look that was, as usual, ignored, the American turned to leap for the next hanging light, not content with the three swinging in an off rhythm behind them. 

This time, Heero was successful in gabbing hold of the braid. "Stop it." he hissed as he drew the unhappy boy forcefully back to his side.

"Geeze Heero, let go." Duo complained reaching both hands back to hold the top of the braid to ease the pain his friend was inflicting. "Why do you have to spoil my fun?" he asked with a frown as Heero let up a bit on his grip, yet kept the braid in hand.

"You're drawing attention to yourself, baka." Heero replied in a low monotone voice.

"I am what I am, and that's all that I am." Duo snickered at the old cartoon saying. He sobered for a moment and kept his voice low. "Man Heero, this is the dullest place I've ever been. These guys," he motioned to the silent students passing them by with expressions of curiosity and fear on their faces, "are like zombies." 

"Something's not right here." Heero murmured cautiously as they began walking again.

"You've got that right, Mr. Obvious." the other replied rolling his eyes. He grunted as Heero elbowed him in the side. "Ow!" he complained rubbing at it the sore spot, but followed Heero's head gesture and looked ahead. Not ten feet away was Ms. Haversand, the school's director. She stood glaring at the both of them through her thick, round glasses. Just looking at her, his memory was refreshed. Duo remembered that he'd disliked her from the moment he'd met her. Yesterday, when he had first entered the school, he'd had to stand at attention for a full half hour as she sternly lectured him on the rules and regulations at Briddlewood Academy, and in no uncertain terms, spoke her negative opinions about the unusual length of his hair. Today, just the same as yesterday, she wore a female version of the school uniform. A black, military-style jacket, complete with epaulets, white collar button-down shirt with a black tie, black shoes and stockings, and she wore a straight fitted skirt in deference to the black, pleated pants the boys and male teachers wore.

As they neared the stern, staring woman, she called out in a sharp voice that echoed in the near silent hallway. "Mr. Wells."

Both boys stopped short, having heard the pseudo name Duo was using. 

"Consider this a warning for inappropriate behavior."

"Mam?" he asked puzzled.

"The lights." her eyes looked up and behind him, down the corridor.

Duo followed her gaze to see the lights behind him still in motion. "I'm sorry mam." he tried to look and sound contrite.

"The rules of conduct are strictly enforced here at Briddlewood." She began in her superior, nasal tone. "If you have difficulty obeying our rules, you will, indeed, have a hard time here. Discipline must be maintained."

"Yes, mam." he lowered his eyes and hoped his tone was properly humble.

She lowered her head and peered at him from over the top rim of her glasses. "I can tell you are a trouble maker, Mr. Wells. But never fear, we will train you, forge you into a man of honor and principle. That's what your parents sent you here for, is it not?"

Duo looked up at her through the long strands of hair that covered his forehead and raised his eyebrows dubiously, but in seeing the stern look on her face, he merely nodded.

She snorted through her nose. "Go to class now, but remember, I will be watching you."

Duo felt his arm being pulled by Heero down the corridor towards their next class. Once they were a safe distance away, he turned to make sure she still stood in the same spot. She was, and her piercing eyes were still watching him. Duo turned to his companion and whispered. "What a battle axe."

"Humph." the other replied as they reached Duo's class.

"Behave." Heero commanded in a low tone. 

Without a doubt the Deathscythe pilot knew that it was an order. He nodded in reply.

"Deep an eye our for Wufei." Heero drew close to whisper quietly to him. "He should arrive today."

"Hurry Max, you'll be late." a boy said as he hurriedly brushed by the two as he entered the classroom.

"Thanks Kyle." Duo nodded to the friendly boy he had met yesterday in class. They'd only had the opportunity to exchange a few words, but Kyle seemed like a nice guy.

"Go!" Heero gave him a shove inside the door.

"Okay, okay." Duo said unhappily as he entered the brightly lit room and moved to his assigned desk in the front row. He really hated this school and this was only his second day.

Lunchtime was his favorite time of day. Well, it tied with the other meals and bedtime for that honor. He moved quickly through the busy corridor to the cafeteria. Hunger was a great motivator, plus, he always looked forward to being with his friends. The line was still short, so before long he had his food and turned to take the filled tray to the table where the other three pilots sat.

Greeting the others, he sat down next to Heero and across from Quatre and Trowa. After taking a few bits of the main dish, some kind of beef and gravy over mashed potatoes, he looked up questioningly at the blonde across from him. Something was definitely up with the small Arabian. Quatre was bothered by something. He had been quiet and withdrawn since his arrival yesterday, and his eyebrows were drawn together.

"Something the matter Q-man?" he asked simply and looked directly into the blue/green eyes that were shrouded with concern.

Quatre leaned forward and whispered so only the other three could hear. "Something is very wrong here." he began. "This room is full of suppressed......." he paused to come up with the right word for the feeling he was receiving from the other students. "fear." he finished.

Duo nodded. Something wasn't right, and Quatre voicing his concern validated what he and Heero had felt earlier. The blonde, whose uncanny ability to sense emotions and pain from others had been a valuable asset to the team, and they'd all learned to trust it. "Have you been able to talk to anyone yet, find out why?"

"I have tried," Quatre answered. "but no one will talk openly with me. This is the most suppressed school environment I have ever been in." He and Duo both let their eyes wander over the full and eerily quiet cafeteria. The principle sound in the room was that of metal forks tapping on the metal trays. A few whispered voices added to the sound, but only slightly.

Heero leaned closer to them having listened to their quiet comments. "Don't concern yourselves with it. We can't be distracted away from why we're here." He whispered as his eyes scanned the area around the, to make sure no one could over hear him. "Our mission is the destruction of the base, not the atmosphere of a school."

"How long do we have to stay here?" Duo asked quietly, his face reflected his concern. He was finding the rules of the school and oppressive atmosphere too constricting for his high level of energy and buoyant personality.

"Hopefully, no more than two weeks." Heero answered.

Just then, the American felt the hair rise on the back of his neck and he turned to see Ms. Haversand staring at him again from across the room.

"Man, she must have radar." he complained unhappily. "She zeros in on me every time." He turned around and absently took another bite of his food.

"Maybe Ms. Haversand is related to Relena." Quatre said with a crooked smile.

Heero snorted in reply, then turned to Duo. "You make yourself a target by your actions and inability to become compatible with your environment."

"And you're impossible to miss." Trowa put in his two cents. "You stand out in a crowd."

"I am not cutting my hair, so lets not get into that argument again." Duo replied hotly defensive, his voice rising slightly. The group had approached him several times suggesting he would blend in with a crowd better if he cut his hair. It made him too unique and identifiable they argued. He stood firm. His braid was his past, his memorial to those lost, and a reminder of why he fought for the colonies. He would not cut it. Period!

Trowa held up his hands. "Okay, I'm sorry! I was just saying you stand out, not insinuating anything."

Duo huffed, looking unhappy and pulled his braid over his shoulder to stroke it comfortingly.

Heero rolled his eyes. As he looked up, he caught sight of the last member of the team. "He's here." The other three at the table turned to look in the same direction. Wufei had arrived. He was in his uniform and being led by the school secretary to Ms. Haversand. She looked him up and down cooly, and motioned for him to get into the line for lunch.

"He must have had the rules lecture already." Duo commented as a shiver of distaste rippled through him as he was reminded of his own experience. He'd never heard so many restricting rules.

"Each of you appear to casually meet and befriend him. Standard procedure." Heero directed. "We'll have a meeting in our room at 1200 hours tomorrow."

"What about lunch?" Duo asked and quieted at Heero's glare.

Heero continued, softening his features slightly. "Duo, is there anyone you might be able to get to open up to you? How about that kid that warned you about being late?"

Duo's eyes widened. "Kyle?" he asked, remembering the incident. "He seems cool, I guess I can try to get him to open up and talk." He looked curiously up at Heero. "What do you want me to ask him?"

"About what is going on here." Heero answered. "We need to be aware of anything that might interfere with the mission."

Quatre cleared his throat loudly, signaling the others to be alert and lowered his head to concentrate on the food on his tray. The others all followed his direction as they found the food on their trays very interesting. Ms. Haversand came up from behind. Without addressing them immediately, they knew she was there by the complete silence that followed in her wake. Her chilly presence was felt deeply as she paused to stand at the head of their table.

Heero alone looked up to meet her cold stare. "Mam?" He questioned.

"A little less noise at this table." she demanded, her voice reverberating through the cafeteria and everyone's attention turned to them. They all nodded, not looking up, and collectively sighed as she moved away.

After she was out of hearing distance, Duo looked to his side at his roommate and whispered earnestly, "Can we not do schools for a while?

A grunt was his only answer, but Heero did look up through his unruly bangs and stared after the "battle axe".

TBC


	2. part 2

Warning: I don't own any part of GW, I only torture them for fun, not profit.

The School from Hell

By: Dyna Dee

Part 2

Duo slipped into their room a moment or two before the nine p.m. curfew. Heero turned from the laptop on his desk to face him, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yes, I talked to him." The braided boy answered, knowing his roommate well enough now to be able to read his silence. He loosened his tie and yanked it out from under his white collar and threw the offensive strip of cloth onto the bed. His fingers then moved to unbutton the top three bottons on his shirt and then started on the cuffs. "Ahhh, better." he sighed with relief. He looked over to Heero, feeling his eyes boring into him. He unbuckled his black belt to remove it as he began his report. "Kyle has been here about a year and warned me to stay out of trouble. He says the consequences here are severe... "painfully severe" were his words. He says this school believes in corporal punishment and he knows of a couple of guys who have been to a place called "The Room". He used his fingers to imitate the quotes. "No one talks about what goes on there, but no one comes out the same. He told me that one guy never came back from there. It was rumored he went home, but his roommate never saw or heard from him again. He says that this room is what everyone here is afraid of. Well, that and Ms. Haversand. They behave and avoid any type of misbehavior to avoid a visit to the room."

Heero raised an eyebrow, somewhat skeptical. "Sounds like a typical blown-out-of-proportion school story." he said in reply to the oral report. "Someone tells a story and it gets embellished as its retold for a dramatic effect."

Duo shrugged and began to slip out of his dress pants and folded them neatly for the next day. "Could be, but its obvious that everyone believes it. The fear we feel from them is the result of this belief, and it has to be unhealthy to be forced into this unnatural silent state they're forced to live in."

"Silence doesn't necessarily mean unnatural." Heero said a tad defensively.

Duo gave him a small smile. "No, maybe not for a few, but for a whole school?"

Heero shrugged as he turned back to his work. "Not our problem. We're here only because this school is closest to the base than any other institution we could infiltrate. It is unfortunate that it is funded by Romafeller as a feeder to the military training system. As soon as we can, we'll be out of here. Just stay out of trouble."

Duo stood in his white t-shirt and red silk boxers, his hands on his hips. "But what about the rest of the guys here? Guys like Kyle. His parents sent him here because he decided to choose a different career than the families traditional military one. He said a lot of the guys here have similar stories, except a few who are rotten to the core." He chuckled to himself suddenly as a thought came to him. "Little did Kyle know that he was speaking to Shinigami when he said that line."

Heero turned around to see the amusement on his friend's face. "It's not for us to be concerned about a school and its discipline policies. The responsibility and outcome lay with the parents who put their kids here in the first place, most likely with full knowledge of the rules and possible consequences."

Duo went to his bed and sat down, opening his back pack, he took out his schedule. "Still doesn't make it right." he mumbled. He studied the week's schedule and looked up. "What's this two-hour block scheduled for the auditorium in the morning?" he asked, curious.

"A lecture presented to the whole school by Ms. Haversand." Heero answered as he turned back to his computer. "It's typical Oz indoctrination."

"Great!" Duo snorted in disgust. "This school just gets better and better, huh? I'd say it's straight out of the bowels of hell, and the demonic teachers are only surpassed by Ms. Haversatan Satan herself." he said dramatically sarcastic, then turned to begin his homework.

Sleep alluded him most of the night as he pondered the words and fearful admonitions of his new friend, Kyle. When morning did finally come, Duo had a hard time waking up having had so little sleep. He was prodded and pulled into rising and dressing by his unhappy roommate and led into the cafeteria just twenty minutes before the first class bell rang. He managed to drink three cups of black, well-sugared coffee, devoured a chocolate glazed doughnut, then purposely ignored the glare Heero shot his way regarding his improper choice of food.

They had two classes to endure until the auditorium lecture was scheduled, which was more than enough time for the caffeine and sugar to get into his system and have an effect on him.

The group of four waited impatiently for him as he bounded out from the restroom. A look of relief gracing his face. "Man, I almost didn't make it through that second class. Heero," he wagged his finger in a scolding manner at the frowning Japanese boy. "why did you let me drink three cups of coffee?" The other boy didn't answer. "Talk about torture on my bladder." Duo grinned at the others as they shook their heads with slight smiles on their faces.

"Come on." Heero said, turning abruptly and took the lead as the other four trailed behind him and into the auditorium. They sat together near the back of the large room that was quickly filling with the eight hundred students in attendance at Briddlewood.

Each of the pilots scanned the room. The fold down, stadium-type, wooden chairs fanned out from the stage in the front of the room. Today it was set up as a speakers podium, the rostrum sat in the center of the stage, three chairs were behind and to the right side of it. Oz flags adorned the front of the stage, as did an enormous flag that fell from the ceiling to the floor as the backdrop. The students and teachers alike took their seats quietly as they entered the room.

"This place is creepy." Duo whispered to Quatre, sitting on his left. The blonde boy nodded his agreement. 

Ms. Haversand walked out from behind the open curtained stage and all in attendance in the auditorium came to their feet. Two burly men dressed alike in black pants and white polo-type shirts followed her in and sat in two of the three chairs, leaving the one in the middle vacant.

"Be seated." commanded the thin, sharp voice that so perfectly matched the woman's appearance and general attitude. In almost perfect unison, the entire auditorium of boys sat. Somehow, the sight caused Duo to chuckle with humor.

Heero looked at him scowling. "Behave!" he admonished the braided boy under his breath.

They all watched as she opened her briefcase and removed a thick, black covered book. She handed the case to one of the men behind her, then moved to open the book's cover. "Let us begin." she said and promptly began to read from it. "In the year of colony 175, military forces on Earth became concerned with unrest in the burgeoning colonies....." She read, and read, with little to no inflection in her voice which droned on, and on. After three-quarters of an hour, Duo found it impossible to sit still. He crossed and uncrossed his legs and arms, sat forward and back, even brought his braid forward and re-braided the bottom half.

The sound of someone clearing his throat caused him to look up. One of the teachers stood behind Heero, who occupied the isle seat, and shook his head at Duo in a disapproving way. The braided boy dropped his hands to his chair and sat on them. After a few moments, the teacher moved away and the fidgeting began again.

"Sit still." Heero warned him, though inwardly he felt sorry for the energetic boy who never could sit for long without movement, speech, or some sort of action. He knew this was hard for him, especially after all the caffeine he had in his system.

Relief came as Quatre took pity on the him and offered him his right hand, the fingers curled, ready to grasp his fingers and his thumb extended. Duo eyes it up as he saw the thumb war challenge. He eagerly placed his curved fingers into the others and stuck his thumb up. He looked quickly behind to rest assure the teacher was out of view. The coast clear, he turned back to face Quatre and mouthed silently, "On three." They soundlessly counted to three and began to angle themselves to capture the others moving thumb and pin it down under their own.

They had each won a battle and the next would decide the day's winner. Duo had moved forward to the edge of the seat to get into a more comfortable angle, and maybe a little more tactical advantage. "One, two, three!" he mouthed silently and the battle began anew. He had to bite his lip to keep quiet as he wrestled the other for thumb dominance. So caught up in the game, Duo didn't realize until too late that he had worked himself off the seat and onto the cold cement floor of the auditorium. Suddenly bereft of any weight, his hard wooden seat he'd accidently vacated sprung up, hitting the back of the seat and sending the loud banging sound across the large room. Everything suddenly went silent as he picked his embarrassed self up from off the cold floor. Smiling sheepishly at his friends, he eased himself back onto his seat.

"Who is responsible for that disturbance?" The shrill voice coming from the stage demanded.

Duo's smile slipped as he looked nervously at Quatre and the two next to him. They looked amused until they caught the look on the faces of the boys surrounding them and watching the scene unfold. They were afraid.

"He's here." The teacher from behind them announced as he appeared at their row and, reaching over Heero's lap, grabbed hold of Duo's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Bring him here." Ms. Haversand said sternly, and a chill went down the braided boy's spine. He knew he was in for it now.

TBC


	3. part 3

The School From Hell

By: Dyna Dee

Part 3

Warnings: Mean people! Poor Duo, light swearing.

He was forcibly pulled by the arm to the front the room, all eyes on him as they climbed the steps to the stage and entered the brightly lit area surrounding the podium. The change in light slightly affected his eyesight and he squinted as he was hauled to stand next to the unhappy looking woman.

"What is the meaning of this Mr. Well's?" she demanded sourly with a strange glimmer of anticipation in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Haversand, but, I fell off my seat." He tried his best to sound contrite, but his faint smile of amusement refused to go away.

"Mr. Well's," she began sharply and gaining his complete attention. "You have only been here a few days and I can see by your attitude and manners that you do not fit in here easily."

"It's just that I have a lot of energy and had waaaay to much coffee for breakfast." he rushed to explain as he scratched the back of his head.

"Excuses are not acceptable from a child of Oz." She told him firmly. "You received a warning yesterday, did you not?"

"Yes mam," Duo answered as pitifully as possible and slunk his head down between his raised shoulders. Man, he hated detention.

"I believe a little discipline is in order." she stated smugly, and the entire room fell deathly silent.

Duo felt a chill crawl up his spine and instinctively knew he wasn't going to get just detention. He glanced nervously from the stern woman in front of him to the direction of his friends, somewhere beyond the bright stage lights. He knew they wouldn't be able to help him, they couldn't afford to blow their cover. But he was hoping for a little mental support. He knew Quatre would be on his side at the least.

With a flick of her hand, she motioned to the burly guy holding the briefcase. Duo thought the guy kinda looked like one enormous muscle with a small head, as the man stood from his chair and carried the black leather case over to the Devil herself. He further complied to her wishes as he raised the case up to rest on his forearm and flipped the top open. Ms. Haversand's eyes took on that peculiar gleam again, which looked to Duo like drooling anticipation. She reached inside and took out a round, sixteen inch-long piece of thick rubber that he estimated to be an inch thick. She bent it slightly between her two hands as if testing its strength and letting him see that it was as flexible as Wufei's pride.

"Put both of your hands out, Mr. Wells. Palms down." she ordered.

Duo violet/blue eyes widened in shock. "No way am I gonna let you hit my hands with that." he told her, his voice sounded incredulous. He couldn't operate his gundam with the bones in his hands broken.

"Are you refusing to obey an order?" Her voice dripped with malevolence, but with an odd tinge of hope that he would do just that.

"Damn right." He snapped back. "I'm not letting you break the bones in my hands just because I fell out of a chair." he snarled at her, his anger quickly mounting.

He watched at she nodded to the two men behind her, and in his peripheral vision, saw them approach. Duo turned to face them and crouched into a defensive position. 

"You've just earned double punishment." the woman said in an unemotional tone.

"No way, lady." he snarled, and watched as the men angled for a better attack position.

The man nearest him reached out to grab his arm, but Duo reached out quicker and with strength that belied his small frame pulled the man forward, using his weight against him, and twisted, throwing him over his back to land at the edge of the raised stage. His momentum rolled the large man off the edge of the stage completely. The auditorium full of students collectively gasped.

Spinning around, his long braid whipped behind him as he faced the next man. He was too tall for an effective upper body attack, so when the man was within reach, he dropped to the ground and spun, his outstretched legs catching the larger man and knocked him down. To his surprise, the large man fell forward, towards him, and grabbed for him, taking hold of the back of his jacket and braid in one large, sweaty hand and lifted him from the ground as he rose to his feet.

Duo twisted and tried to loosen the hold, landing several blows with his hands and feet to the man's solid mid-section with no apparent result. The pull on his braid kept him from slipping out of his jacket to escape

"Stop this." Ms Haversand barked out. Duo couldn't seem to maneuver himself out of the large man's grasp, and the other big oaf had just climbed back on the stage and was approaching him with a vengeful gleam in his eye.

Seeing the futility of fighting any further, he stopped struggling, his legs dangling a foot above the stage floor as the brute continued to hold him in the air. He put both hands up in a posture of giving up as the second man approached. "Nothin personal." he assured him. "No hard feelings, heh?" He said and gave his most innocent look, hoping for some mercy. He was promptly lowered and his arms were immediately pinned behind his back in a painfully tight grip.

He grimaced. "Hey, Not so tight!"

"Silence!" Ms Haversand ordered, her face contorted in rage. She grabbed hold of the boys face and with a determined effort to cause him as much discomfort as possible, pinched his cheeks together, her manicured nails digging into his flesh. She sneered in satisfaction as she finally saw a bit of pain flicker in his eyes. She had lost control of the situation in front of all the students, and as a result, she would see to it that this boy would indeed pay for his insolence.

"Take him to the box!" She ordered her two flunkies and flung Duo's head back as she let go of his abused face. She watched with contempt as the braided boy was dragged unwillingly and loudly complaining off the stage and out the door side door of the auditorium.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened her jacket, not that it was ever out of place, but more to compose herself. "Let us proceed after that unfortunate demonstration." she said, then paused as she stared out into the auditorium. The students were silent, all eyes were on her. "Let there be no doubt," her voice was like ice. "Mr. Wells' behavior was completely unacceptable and he will be dealt with an appropriate punishment to assure that it will not happen again." 

The three friends in the back nervously glanced at each other and then to Heero. He looked straight ahead, as stony and seemingly undisturbed by the scene that had just played out before them. Quatre studied his profile for a moment noting his breathing was a bit accelerated and his hands were white from gripping the ends of the armrests. He might give the impression of being indifferent, but Quatre knew the "perfect soldier"cared as much, or more than any of them in regards to Duo's welfare.

Fifteen minutes later as the lecture droned on, Quatre gasped, causing those around him to look at him in wonder. They saw him clutch both hands to his chest and begin to shake.

"What's wrong?" Trowa asked alarmed and put a comforting hand on the blonde's arm.

"He's terrified and trying to squelch his fear." Quatre gasped softly so others wouldn't hear.

"Duo afraid?" Trowa asked perplexed. "He thinks he's the God of Death. What would scare him so?"

Quatre's eyes looked up wide and fearful, and shook his head. "I don't know, but we've got to help him."

"Is something the matter here?" The same teacher who had taken Duo forward was looking sternly at them.

"I....I'm not well." Quatre managed to say and definitely looked the part.

The man studied him for a moment and then nodded.

"I can take him to our room." Trowa offered in a whisper.

The teacher paused to think it over before he leaned over to whisper, "Go quietly." he admonished them, and stepped aside to let them out into the isle. Both boys chanced a glance at Heero as they passed him. With lips pressed tightly together, he gave them a barely perceptible nod.

TBC

  
  



	4. part 4

The School From Hell

By: Dyna Dee

Part 4

Warnings: Hummmm, angst?

An hour later, Heero and Wufei both entered the other boy's room. They found Quatre on his bed, tightly curled up on his, his hands were clasped to his chest, and his eyes were squeezed shut as he rocked his body.

"What's the matter with him?" Heero asked concerned as he moved towards the bed.

"He's sensing Duo's emotions." Trowa answered, worry written on his face for both Quatre and Duo.

"Pain?" Wufei asked.

"Terror." Quatre managed to gasp.

"What could they be doing to him?" Trowa asked to no one in particular.

"There is only one thing I know that terrifies him." Heero said thoughtfully.

Instead of enlightening them further, he went to the bed and sat next to the miserable looking boy lying there. "You have to remove yourself from his fear." he told Quatre and awkwardly patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort. "Focus your mind elsewhere. We need you functioning if we're to help him."

The blonde nodded and visibly began to gain some control. His legs slowly straightened out and some of the fear lessened in his large blue eyes. "What can I do?" he asked gaining his composure.

Heero helped pull him up to a sitting position. "It's lunchtime. We need to go and talk to the other students and find out what the box is and where it's located. With that information, we'll do a quick reconnaissance as to the security on that area and then retract.

The other three nodded in their agreement to the plan Heero outlined. Heero continued. "I'll go find Kyle, the guy Duo spoke to last night. He seemed willing to talk. You three spread out and see what you can find out." 

Once they determined that Quatre could function well enough to leave the room, the four boys left together and headed for the cafeteria.

It was more difficult than he had imagined it would be to find the boy Duo had referred to. Heero had only seen him once in passing. As everyone was dressed the same, it took a concentrated study of each face to try to locate the boy. While the others split up and began to immerse themselves in other groups, Heero walked quietly around the room and tried to pinpoint Kyle in the sea of faces.

After one sweep, he placed himself by the door and watched each boy leave the cafeteria to prepare for their next class. Finally, his eyes locked on the target. The brown haired boy looked up with startled brown eyes as Heero grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side.

"We need to talk." he whispered in the boy's ear as they moved out of the flow of students.

"Y..y...your a friend of Max." the boy said out loud as he recognized him.

Heero nodded. "Yuy Odin." he introduced himself.

Kyle shook his head, his eyes took on a look of sadness. "I tried to warn him." he said sadly. "I told him to be careful."

"I know." Heero reassured him. "He told me."

"I've seen his type before, energetic, enthusiastic, something this school doesn't tolerate. I don't know him well," he looked into Heero's eyes, "but he was nice and I didn't want to see him hurt. I tried to warn him." 

Heero noted the distress in the eyes of the other boy, and the sincerity behind them. "It's not your fault Kyle. Max is what he is, and he's not good at hiding it most of the time." He hoped that what he was saying was somehow comforting to the other boy. He knew Duo would want him to do this.

Kyle nodded, grateful for the words of understanding, but he sensed that Yuy was not done with him yet.

"What do you know of this box he was taken to." Heero asked.

Kyle nervously looked around to make sure they couldn't be overheard. "I don't know for sure. I know it's in "The Room", and I know someone who went to it. He was put in the box and.....and he's a.... a very different person now." He leaned closed to Heero and spoke in a conspiring manner. "I can take you to him, but not until after school. I can't miss class and I'm not sure what classes he has now. I do know where his room is though."

Heero scanned the corridor as he thought. He didn't have any other leads, but he didn't want to wait that long. The memory of Quatre reflecting Duo's crippling fear haunted him. "All right." he looked back to the boy. "I'll meet you at the front door to the dorms."

"Four o'clock." the boy said after checking his watch.

Heero nodded his agreement. Kyle hesitated a moment. "Can I go now? He asked reluctantly. Only then his Hero realize that he still had a firm clasp on the arm of the boy in front of him. 

"Sorry." he mumbled, quickly letting go. He watched as the other boy rubbed his arm where he had gripped it, then turned and vanished into the crowd of students.

At three thirty, the four met in Heero and Duo's room. Wufei and Trowa were not able to get much as their more quiet personalities tended to make people suspicious when they suddenly did a one-eighty and became talkative. Quatre, on the other hand, had been able to talk to a couple of more open boys.

"I think what they told me was more of a expanded story, maybe taking one grain of fact and distorting it with each telling" he began in explanation of what he was about to tell them. "They made the room sound like a torture chamber with a spiked coffin, a stretching rack, chains and whips." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I really can't believe such a thing."

They all agreed, and Heero told them of his assignation with Kyle. He checked his watch and saw that the time was fast approaching. He turned to the others who awaited further instructions from him. "Trowa, check out the security room. See if we can find the room they took him to, or if there's a camera in the room."

Trowa nodded and Heero turned to the next boy.

"Wufei, find a hiding place. Once we remove him, they will most likely search the entire campus for him. We can't leave here until we complete our mission, so his hiding place needs to be here, but undetectable."

Wufei nodded his acceptance of the task

He then turned to Quatre who was sitting on the edge of the bed. Heero noted that the small blonde still had a pained look about his eyes. He was still feeling the debilitating fear that was Duo. "Is he OK?" he asked. The Arabian shut his eyes to focus, then grabbing his chest, gasped as he doubled over.

Heero knelt down in front of him, Wufei and Trowa looked on, worry and concern visible on their faces. "Come back now Quatre." Heero soothed. "We need you here."

Slowly, the boy lifted his large blue eyes. "Physically, he's uncomfortable, but he terrified, unreasonably so. He is definitely....." he searched for the word. "distressed."

Heero nodded and stood, still looking at the blonde boy. "I need you to pack up his personal belongings, leave the uniforms. We'll stash it with him once he's hidden." Although he looked calm and controlled, the others noted his eyebrows were drawn together in controlled anger. "I should have never let him come here." he huffed to the surprise of the others.

"It's not your fault, Heero." Quatre said sensing the feeling of guilt assaulting the Japanese boy.

"But it is." Heero continued. "I knew this was a highly regimented and disciplined school. I just never realized how much so. I should have known he couldn't conform to such a rigid environment."

"It's neither your's, nor Duo's fault." Trowa spoke as he moved to sit next to Quatre. "Ms. Haversand had it in for him from the moment she saw him. You could see it in her actions and in her face that she targeted Duo and was enjoying every moment of his discomfort."

The room was silent as all of them pondered his words. Duo didn't have a chance from the beginning.

"I need to go." Heero announced, checking the time again on his watch. "Wufei and I will report to your room when we have finished our assignments." He spoke to Quatre and Trowa.

"What about the mission?" Wufei asked as he stood leaning against the dresser with his arms folded in front of him.

"Delayed for a more important mission....Duo's extraction." Heero replied as he moved to the door. They watched as he left, silently wishing him luck.

TBC

  
  



	5. part 5

The School From Hell

By: Dyna Dee

warnings: light angst and violence.

Part 5

Kyle looked obvious and nervous as he stood outside the front of the dorms red brick entry and looked around suspiciously as Heero approached him.

"Relax and look at me." Heero directed him. The boy looked tremulously into his blue eyes.

"You look guilty and you have done nothing wrong." Heero chided him.

"Sorry." he apologized and attempted to look more relaxed, and failed completely.

"Don't be sorry, just get a grip on yourself." Heero told him. The boy before him was about two inches taller than he was so he only had to look up slightly as he instructed him to take a couple of deep breaths. This seemed to have a more calming influence than his words had.

"Come on." A much calmer boy motioned to Heero. "I'll take you to Scott." He turned and led him to the stairwell and they proceeded to the second floor and down the long corridor. He stopped in front of door 241 and knocked softly. No answer. He knocked a little louder. With a shrug and a apologizing smile to Heero, the brunette tried again. "Scott, you in there. It's Kyle."

"Go away." a faint voice spoke from behind the door.

"You ok?" Kyle asked concerned, and when no answer was forthcoming, he turned to look questioningly at Heero.

"Try again." Heero suggested.

Taking a deep breath, he did. "Please, Scott, open the door. I think something's wrong. If you don't open it, I will have to get Ms. Nagle to open it." He waited a moment and was rewarded when the door nob turned and slowly pulled open.

"I...I"m ok, Kyle." A small voice spoke timidly and a pair of frightened green eyes peeked past the opened edge of the door.

"Can I come in for just a minute? I want to introduce you to someone." Kyle asked gently, sensing the others boys reluctance. The green eyes shifted to the Japanese boy.

"I..I. j..just want to be a..alone." he stammered.

"Please." Kyle began again when, to his surprise, Heero suddenly pushed him aside and pushed the door open, knocking back the boy behind it. Once in, Heero turned, grabbed Kyle, and pulled him into the room and shut the door.

"Who are you?"

Heero turned to face the questioning boy who occupied this room. He noted the taller, thin boy with red hair that was cut short and slicked back, his face liberally speckled with freckles. The red eyebrows over the wide green eyes were lifted expressing his fear. Heero pulled Kyle forward.

"Ah....this is Yuy Odin." Kyle began. "He is the roommate of the boy Max, who was sent to the box today."

Heero didn't think it was possible for the red haired boy to show more fear, but he did as he shrank back from them until he was backed in the corner where he sank down against the wall and covered his head with his arms.

"Scott, what's the matter?" Kyle asked softly as he followed the boy in his withdrawal from them.

Heero grabbed hold of Kyle's arm. "Let me talk to him." he said firmly. The boy nodded and stepped aside.

"Scott," Heero began lowering his voice to sooth the shaken boy. "I was told that you were sent to the room. Can you tell me about it so I can help my friend?" he asked. The boy shook his head fiercely without lifting it.

"Scott." His voice spoke louder this time with a tone of command but not anger. "Look at me." He pulled the boy's resisting arms away from his head. "You can trust me. I won't hurt you. In fact, I'll protect you." he assured him. Scott raised his head to reveal watery, frightened eyes. "Where is this room?" Heero asked gently.

"T..t...t.oop floor of the administration building." He whispered as if he was afraid someone might hear and punish him.

Heero nodded and forced a smile hoping to encourage the boy. He realized that in order to get the information he needed from the frightened boy, he had to ask specific questions that required short answers.

"What's in this room?"

The redhead scrunched up his freckled forehead in thought. "A table, chair, lamp, vent, a window" he shook his head as if the memory hurt. "Handcuffs nailed onto the ww.ww.wall, and the box." He shuddered as he finished.

"What kind of box?" he softened his voice realizing that this questioning was upsetting to the other.

"A cold, metal one. It's on the floor, small, maybe a little over four feet, with little holes for air. The sun shines on it during the day, making it hot and at night it's really cold." he replied with a haunted look in his unfocused eyes.

"Did they put you in the box?" he asked gently.

Scott covered his head with his arms again and began to murmur over and over. "I'll be good, I'll be good."

"Thank you, Scott." Heero reached over and stroked the other boy's head. "No one will hurt you again. I promise." Heero stood and faced Kyle. "This conversation will not leave this room, understand?" 

Kyle nodded his eyes, wide with anxiety at his friend's description, strayed back to his friend still huddled on the floor. "He's my friend, though he's not the same." he said sadly and looked up at Heero. "He use to be like Max, playful, cheerful, a real prankster. That's what got him into the room and the box. He got caught taking the light bulbs out of the main restroom and greasing the toilet seats. Harmless, really, but it was his second warning."

Heero nodded grimly as he looked at the broken boy and wondered how Duo would be affected. He looked at Kyle and then at Scott. "I appreciate your help, both of you."

"Are you going to help Max?" Kyle asked hopeful yet fearful. "If you're caught..." his eyes widened a the horror of the repercussions of such an act.

"Don't worry." Heero assured him in his confident soldier tone. "I'll get him out of there." With that said, he turned and left the two boys alone to wonder at his statement.

He went directly to Trowa and Quatre's room. Wufei had not yet returned from his assignment. Trowa was the first to report. He told them he had located the security room in the basement of the administration building and waited around the corner of until the school's hired security men left the room for their routine coffee break, making it easy for the Heavyarm's pilot to pick the lock and enter the empty room. Trowa reported that the security room was located in the basement of the administration building. He lacked the time to check their files completely, but downloaded floor plans of the buildings and the location of security cameras placed around the campus. He quickly rewound today's tape, and followed the image of the security men from the auditorium with Duo struggling between them. On another tape, it showed them entering a room in the administration building. Only one of the men left the room. He reset the tapes and left without being detected.

Quatre then reported that he had secured Duo's personal belongings, and they were in his black duffel bag in Quatre's closet.

Wufei returned at that time, and after closing the door, turned to report. "I found a crawl space we can hide him in until we can leave here. We just need blankets, food and a flashlight."

Heero shook his head. "We need something more open."

Wufei looked at him puzzled.

"He's claustrophobic. I'm sure that is what's causing him to feel the terror that Quatre felt."

They all exchanged a puzzled look.

"There's an attic above the administration center." Trowa suggested having studied the buildings schematics.

"I can try to check it out." Wufei offered.

"You'll need to be careful as they are holding Duo on the top floor of that building." Heero informed him. "Though for retrieval, it would be very convenient to move him to the attic above his current position. Especially when we don't know what kind of shape we'll find him in.

Heero continued on, relating to them his interview with the red hair boy, Scott. The three seemed disturbed by Heero's description of the boy's fear and what the room held. They all realized that Duo was most likely in the box, and that had caused his claustrophobic fear.

"I'll leave as soon as it's dark." Wufei spoke up. "I'll find an entrance to the attic, and maybe even the location of the room Duo's in."

"It's the first door off the west stairwell." Trowa said, remembering the location from viewing the tapes.

"If we do manage to hide him in the attic, it means we won't have easy access to him. He'll need supplies for the duration of his stay up there." Heero surmised.

"I'll take care of that." Quatre offered, needing something to occupy himself with to keep Duo's distress at bay.

Heero nodded his consent. "I need to shut down the main power coupling so that we're not caught on the security cameras. But each building has it's own back-up generator, they will have to be disabled individually. Trowa," he turned to the tall brunette. "I want you to take that assignment. After dark, I want you to disable the generators attached to the administration building and the student dorms. I don't want our comings and goings documented. A timed explosive on the main power cable to the school will go off at exactly 4:00 a.m. That, and the downed generators will give us all the time we need to retrieve Duo, hide him, and return to our rooms undetected."

Heero studied the serious faces around him. "Is everyone clear about their assignment? Any questions?" He asked. There was no further comment. "Very well then, let's get going. We will regroup in my room just before the 10:00 p.m. curfew for a strategy meeting.

Quatre heaved a deep sigh. "This is going to be a long night." he said

"Yes," Trowa replied, "but tomorrow is Saturday and we can sleep in. Hopefully."

With that said and exchange of a nod for good luck, each boy went his own way to accomplish his assigned task.

TBC 


	6. part 6

The School From Hell

By: Dyna Dee

Warning: Poor Duo torture

By: Dyna Dee

Part 6

They gathered at nine-forty five in Heero's room, solidifying their plan of attack. Each boy returned to his room to rest for a couple of hours. At four a.m. a small popping sound in the distance and total darkness that followed, signaled that Heero had completed his task of taking out the power coupling leading to the school. The back-up generators failed to turn on. The three remaining pilots left their rooms, all dressed in black and carrying with them all that they deemed necessary for this mission. The halls were dark and quiet as the entire student population slept on, unaware of the events occurring around them.

The three met Heero at the southeast corner of the brick administration building. With a slight pop, Wufei released the remote controlled grappling hook from it's launcher to shoot up and through the overhanging roof of the building. Bringing a small remote out of his pocket, he triggered the remote switch, the pointed arrow protruding out of the roof snapped open, catching hold on the shingles and becoming a sturdy anchor. Pulling with his weight to test the strength of the hold, he signaled to the others that he was satisfied with it. He quickly bounded upward, hand over hand pulling himself up with apparent ease. In reaching the top, he quickly twisted his arm and leg around the rope, braced himself, and began to remove the wood vent situated at the apex just below the roof. Even though he had been here earlier in the evening, he found the vent frame hard to grasp hold of, so he removed a knife from his belt and ran it along the edges and used it to pry the wood away from the brick wall. It came free, and angling it, he fit it into the open space and carefully set it down avoiding making any sound. Wufei then pulled himself feet first through the small opening. With a jerk of the rope, he signaled for the others to follow.

Turning into the dark room, he turned on his flashlight and scanned the space. He could feel the coolness of the room, and realized that Duo would indeed need blankets. For though the autumn days were at times uncomfortably warm, the night temperature dropped dramatically. This room was not insulated, but he felt confident that Duo would be safe to hide here until they could leave.

Behind him, Trowa and Heero joined him, Quatre began to send up the supplies and the duffel bag belonging to Duo. Silently, Wufei pointed the beam of his flashlight to the attic opening. From the building schematics Trowa had obtained from his security room raid, they had ascertained that the attic opening was located on the ceiling of a storage closet. Scanning the room further, they saw a large piece of plywood off to the left of the opening. It had most likely been used to work on or store things on. It would be practical for Duo to use as a bed. When Quatre joined them, the four each took a bag and made their way towards the plywood by balancing on the wood beams surrounded by insulation and set them down one they reached it. They then moved to the opening. 

Trowa lifted the cover without a sound and set it to the side. In a fluid, easy motion, he slipped down through it to land almost silently below, within the confines of the utility closet. He paused to listen for any slight noise that someone might have been alerted to their presence. Nothing.

Heero dropped down next to him and he felt more than heard Wufei follow. The closet they were in was small and getting uncomfortably cozy. In the dim light of the flashlight, Trowa signaled for Quatre to stay positioned where he was. He would be their backup.

Heero took the lead from there, opening the closet door. Once out, they found themselves in the center of the long hallway. Spreading out, they made their way in stealth down to the direction of the west stairwell.

The sound of a voice at the end of the corridor sent them scrambling for cover against various dark doorways. A door next to the stairs opened and the beam of a flashlight exited the room. "Be back in a minute kid. Don't go anywhere now." The man's deep voice taunted. He then began to descend the stairs, swearing in complaint at the inadequate back-up systems as he went. Three silent figures quickly emerged from the deep shadows and went directly to the room.

It was unlocked, and after quickly entering, Heero scanned it with his flashlight, and determined that it was pretty much as the boy, Scott, had described it. With a hand signal, Trowa was assigned to guard the door, and Wufei joined Heero as their flashlights searched the entire room. On the floor, in front of the window was the metal box Scott had described. Heero estimated that it measured about four and a half feet long, and two and a half feet wide. Both boys moved quickly to kneel in front of it. Their hands searched the cold metallic sides and found the latches that held the lid shut. Thankfully, there were no locks, just metal fasteners that slid into place to prevent any opening by juggling or pressure from the inside.

Both boys quickly worked the fasteners off and pushed the metal lid open, their flashlight aimed into the box. They both took a deep intake of breath at what they saw. "Duo!" Hero whispered anxiously.

The boy in the metal box was clad only in his black silk boxers, so dark in contrast to his pale skin. His hands and feet were tied and bound together behind his back, and a gag was tied tightly in his mouth. Chestnut colored hair fell wildly around him as he rocked back and forth, his eyes closed tightly.

"Duo." Heero knelt and called his name softly then reached out to pull back the hair from his friend's face.

Duo's eyes flew open and his breathing immediately accelerated at a rapid pace. His wide eyes looked up into the light with a look of fear and pleading.

Putting the small pen flashlight in his mouth, Heero quickly began to work at the knot at the back of his friend's head to remove the gag. Wufei worked on the knots that held his feet and hands together.

The long haired piolet moaned as the gag was removed. "C...c...c..ooo..ld." he stammered.

Heero reached out and touched his partner's arm, it was icy and he could feel the goose bumps covering his flesh as well as the shaking of his body.

"Got it." Wufei whispered as he pulled the rope from their friends limbs. Duo gasped at the pain in his arms and legs and moaned.

Heero reached down and awkwardly took hold of his roommate and lifted him from the box. Duo sucked in a sob at the pain and relief. Unable to stand or use his numb arms, he hung like a rag doll from the arms of his rescuer, crushed against his chest. He was embarrassed that he was so helpless, emotional, and still shaking. With his teeth chattering from the cold, he lay his head into Heero's neck, trying to absorb as much heat as possible from the warm body.

"Clothes?" Heero whispered to Wufei.

The Chinese pilot scanned the room and went to a pile of clothing on the floor. He picked them up and saw that they were torn, unusable. He dropped them. "Useless. Let's go."

"Footsteps." Trowa whispered in warning.

Heero looked at Wufei. "Restore the box to its original position. It will by us time if they think he's still in there."

Wufei nodded and quickly did as requested. He then stood and lifted Duo's useless legs as Heero shifted him and held firmly to his body, and they hurriedly carried their friend out into the corridor and to the closet. Trowa skirted around them to open the door.

"It's us." he whispered, then opened it fully now that Quatre had been warned. The steps on the stairs reported that the man returning was nearing the top. Quatre's blonde head looked down at them from the attic opening.

With only Quatre's flashlight shining on them, Heero motioned for Trowa to give Wufei a leg up. The two quickly complied and Wufei disappeared into the opening, only to turn around to offer his help. Heero then turned and handed Duo into Trowa's arms. "You'll have to hold him up as you are the tallest." he whispered. After shutting the closet door, he looked up into the opening. Wufei's arms stretched down and with a jump up, Heero locked onto them and was quickly pulled upward. He immediately reappeared and, like Wufei had, reached down with both hands. 

Trowa found it difficult to hold the limp body in his arms up far enough for Heero to grab Duo under his arms, as the braided was unable to help, his arms were useless. Wufei was behind Heero and helped to pull both Heero and Duo up and into the attic, all three falling together onto the yellow insulation covering the attic floor. Wufei collapsed back with the weight of both Heero and Duo on top of him. Easing himself out, the Shenlong pilot went back to assist Trowa up. Soon all five were secure in the attic and the cover to the opening was closed.

Heero turned on his pen light and facing Quatre, focused it on his own face and mouthed the word "Clothing." The blonde quickly rummaged though the bags and came back with a sweatshirt, pants, and socks. Heero released his hold on his roommates trembling body, and with his warmth removed, Duo's teeth chattered. He moaned in agony as he slowly moved his knees upward, trying to curl up. It took all four pilots to massage his limbs in order to straighten them and dress him.

At Heero's silent hand motions, a blanket was placed in the center of the plywood where he lifted the Deathscythe pilot and placed him there on his side. He quickly curled his body around him and signaled for Quatre to move in front of Duo and offer him his body warmth. The blonde complied without hesitation.

Trowa placed the remaining blanket over top of the three and he and Wufei sat down on the corners of the plywood edge and patiently waited.

Sandwiched between his friends, the cold and fear slowly eased from his body and mind, and Duo began to relax and drift into sleep, sensing he was safe. He was vaguely aware of Heero talking quietly into his ear and gently pulling his hair away from his face. Not everything the other boy said was understood, but he caught the words "gotta leave." He mumbled a protest, unwilling to have the delicious warmth that was seeping into his body be removed. He felt a hand close over his mouth to silence him, and he wondered to himself if he had been that loud. Damn his mouth hurt. A piece of cloth, part of his shirt they had torn off his body, had been used to gag him and had not only cut the corners of his mouth, but had caused him to gag frequently. He never could stand cotton in his mouth. On top of that wonderful experience, he hyperventilated regularly when the wave of panic washed over him each time he thought about being in an enclosed box with the lid shut. He'd always been uncomfortable in closed rooms without proper ventilation, but a box like a coffin with a lid shut, it had been too much for him to contain the rising , unreasonable hysteria that overwhelmed him. He had screamed and ranted through the gag from the start. The idiot that kept watch began to hit the metal prison with something causing a deafening ring in his ears. That and his weariness were probably what kept him from fully understanding what Heero had been trying to tell him.

"Duo." Heero whispered sharply. "Can you hear me?"

Duo nodded, the hand still over his sore mouth.

"You are in the attic above the administration building. You're safe, but you must be silent and stay here until we can leave the school. Do you understand?"

He nodded again.

"We brought you food and water and your personal things." Heero went on. "We have to leave now or we chance blowing our cover. Alright?" 

Another nod.

"Go back to sleep, I'll try to return tonight if it can be accomplished safely."

Duo was only dimly aware of the others' diminishing warmth being withdrawn from him and the blanket being tucked snugly around him. He felt hands touching him in silent reassurance as he curled up his knees and drifted off to sleep.

TBC

  
  



	7. part 7

The School From Hell

By: Dyna Dee

Part 7

Warnings: some sap

By 11:00 a.m., all the students left on campus, those who had not left for the weekend, were ousted from the dorms as school personnel did a thorough search of the entire campus. They refused to explain the reason for it, just passing it off as a routine search for illegal substances. The majority of students didn't seem to mind as the buildings were becoming uncomfortably warm with the power still off and no air-conditioning available. Four of the boys on the lawn knew what was being searched for, but showed mild disinterest in the proceedings as those around them speculated as to the reason for it.

Heero caught a glimpse of Kyle and Scott standing at a distance from them, staring at him. He could tell they had come to their own conclusion as to the reason for the search. He turned away from them to face his three companions. None of them had much to say. 

It was another very warm autumn day. He noticed the red flush on the faces of Trowa and Quatre, and felt a tickle of sweat on his own forehead. He used the back of his hand to brush it away as he casually glanced up, looking at the vent at the top of the red brick administration building. Only a slight draw of his eyebrows together showed his concern.

"Think he's okay? Quatre asked quietly having observed Heero glancing in that direction.

"Hai." he replied and turned his attention elsewhere.

The object of their thoughts was waking up, in a sweat. Duo's arms and legs ached from the long hours of being tied up and their pain was keenly felt as he tried to kick off the blankets tangled around him. He managed to pull himself into a sitting position and fought back the urge to growl loudly in frustration as his hair was everywhere about him in a tangled mess. He unhappily pulled a mass of it out of his face, realizing it would take forever to straighten it out.

The bright sunshine outside filtered slightly through the vents, giving him enough light to dispel some of the darkness of the attic space. He studied his surroundings, remembering the events of his early morning rescue. Despite the heat, a shudder went through him as he remembered his incarceration in the metal box. The two thugs that had dragged him into the room told him of their intentions and he had fought them tooth and nail to prevent it. They had to tear his clothes off as he refused to cooperate. He couldn't believe they had actually hog-tied him and put him in the cold metal box in his underwear. He freaked. That is the only way he could describe it. He screamed at them when the lid was shut and continued until they grew anxious that someone might hear him. They re-opened the lid and forcefully put the thick strip of material in his mouth and shut the lid again. It was a good thing he hadn't had much to eat that morning as the cotton material in his mouth caused him to gag. That stopped him from attempting to scream, even with the wad of material filling his mouth. That was when the hyperventilating began. His fear of being trapped in an small enclosed space overpowered his attempts to calm down, even after he attempted to use the techniques Wufei had patiently tried to teach him. Several times he felt himself on the verge of passing out as his breathing and heart rate accelerated as his feeling of panic grew. Maybe he did pass out, he couldn't remember. He was in the dark and couldn't tell the passing of time, though he did realize when the box became warm and remembered that it rested in front of a window. He was probably in the light of the afternoon sun and as the air in the box began to warm, it add to his illogical notion that he couldn't breath. He started hyperventilating again.

He shook off the memory of the day before as sweat dripped down the sides of his face from the rising and almost intolerable heat in the attic. Pulling his arms into his sweatshirt he jerked it up and over his head and threw it down by his feet. The pants quickly followed as well as the socks he wore.

Crawling over to this duffel bag, he unzipped it, searching for his brush. He smiled to himself as his hand lit on it. Next, he went to the other two unfamiliar duffels and unzipped them. To his delight, they were filled with food and drinks. He turned on a pen light that had been left on top of the bags and stared at the contents. He smiled broadly. Quatre is the only one who would put all the goodies in there for him. Trail mix, granola bars, apples, oranges, candy, pudding, Crackerjacks, cookies, and more, some of it nutritional. He would have to control himself and pace his eating so he didn't eat it all in one day. He had no idea how long he would be stuck up here. After he wiped the perspiration from his forehead away with the back of his hand, he took out a couple of granola bars, and a bottle of juice, and sat back to enjoy his breakfast.

By late afternoon the campus returned to a level of normalcy. Classrooms were now being searched, and the students were allowed back into the dorms. The entire building felt even more stuffy and overly warm as they returned to their rooms, the power was still off. 

Wufei watched the door to Heero's room. Ms. Haversand and one of her goons had roughly grabbed hold of him on their way back to the dorm and insisted on an interview. Wufei figured Heero could handle himself, but he was going to make sure they didn't try to take him like they had Duo.

The lights in the dorms blinked, and then came on fully, as well as the air conditioning, signaling the power cables Heero destroyed last night had been repaired. He leaned his shoulder against the door frame of his room, arms folded, and waited.

Ten minutes later, the angry looking woman and her big, flunky sidekick stormed out. She turned once more to look into the just vacated room. "If I find you are in anyway responsible for this, Mr. Odin, you will rue the day you crossed me." She turned away and caught Wufei glaring at her. She returned it. "You have a problem Mr. Fei?" she asked sharply.

"No, mam." he replied trying to keep the snideness he felt from his voice. The middle aged woman smirked and turned to huff down the hall, lackey in tow.

Wufei went to the open door and looked in. The room had been ransacked, and Heero was picking up clothing and other items from off of the floor. "Want some help?" he offered.

Heero straightened. "No need, but thanks."

Wufei walked in and began to re-hang the military jackets that were thrown on the bed and turned inside out. They had left just enough of Duo's clothing behind as to look like he didn't pack up before he disappeared.

"So what happened?" Wufei asked.

"They wanted to know if I had seen Duo, what I know about him, and threatened bodily harm to me if I let on to anyone that he was missing."

"Idiots!" Wufei snorted at the thought of threatening the perfect soldier. Together they picked up the rest of the room and then swept it for any possible bugs. Trowa and Quatre entered the room and closed the door.

"We're two days behind scheduled." Heero said, displeasure in his voice. "I can't see us moving before Monday night and I want to do something about the situation here."

Wufei raised a questioning brow. "Duo quoted you as saying it wasn't our business."

"They made it my business when they mistreated him and when I saw the fear in that boy Scott's face. I told him I wouldn't let anyone hurt him again."

"So what are we going to do?" Wufei asked a slight smile on his face.

Heero smiled back at his their readiness to help. "We expose them."

It was a half hour after curfew when Heero climbed through the vent and slipped into the attic. The air outside had cooled considerably, but the attic space was still uncomfortably warm, probably due to the entire building having been without air conditioning for the majority of the day.

Turning on his pen light, he balanced on the beams moving towards the sheet of plywood. "Duo!" he called out softly. He reached the edge of the wood surface and flashed his light across the flat surface. "Duo." he hissed as the light revealed his roommate spread eagle, clad only in his boxers, his hair braided and tossed to the side, the remaining hair around his face was wet with sweat and stuck to his skin. He quickly crawled to the side of the unaware boy and felt his pulse on his wrist. It was slow and thready. He pinched his skin and observed it stayed pinched after he removed his fingers. Dehydrated, he concluded. Crawling over his body, Heero reached for the bag of food and searched for a bottle of water. Finding it, he opened it and turned back to his friend and tried to wake him by tapping his face. The American reluctantly opened his eyes, relief immediately visible on his face. "Drink." Heero told him as he helped to lift his head and tipped the lip of the bottle to allow the water to flow into his mouth. He made sure the braided boy drank most of the bottle and then splashed the rest on his hot skin.

"I see it got pretty hot up here." he said, mindful to keep his voice down.

Duo looked at him in disbelief. "Hot!" He whispered. "It was more like hell without flames."

"Sorry." 

"Not your fault," Duo shrugged. "but mine."

Heero reached over and brushed the damp hair from his friend's face. "No, I should have known you wouldn't fit in this school easily. I just had no idea it was as rigid or cruel as it turned out to be. I should have kept you out of this."

Duo shook his head at the apology, then looked up in the dim light of the flashlight into the Japanese boy's eyes. "Thanks for getting me out of there." He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. "Man, I lost it, freaked." his voice caught as he spoke. He closed his mouth, unable to speak or his emotions would overtake him.

"Quatre sensed your fear and we acted as fast as possible without jeopardizing the mission."

"Thank the guys for me too, okay?"

Heero nodded and stood. He made his way to the attic opening and lifted the door. He listened carefully for any sounds below. Satisfied, he moved back, pulling Duo to his feet and helped him over to the opening. A rush of fresh cool air lifted up through the closed space below. Duo gasped at the chilling sensation, then sighed in pleasure.

"The power was off most of the day until they fixed the power coupling I blasted last night. I think tomorrow will be cooler up here, but if it does get warm, you can open the door here to cool off."

Duo nodded even as he started to shiver as the cool air touched his warm and sweat-dampened body.

Heero went back to the bags as Duo sat enjoying the cool air. When he returned he brought back some food. As Duo ate, he took the discarded sweatshirt and toweled off the excess moisture from his back, arms, and shoulders. They sat there quietly for a time until Heero decided the temperature of the attic was more tolerable. He made sure Duo drank another bottle of water and then closed the door to the closet below.

It was unusual for Duo to be so quiet and complacent, enough for Heero to question it. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Duo answered quietly.

Heero waited for a few moments before speaking again. "Something 's wrong." he observed. "Tell me."

"I....I guess I'm just tired." he answered.

Heero stood and took hold of Duo's arm. "Come on, I'll help you back."

The American stood on wobbly legs. "I can make it myself." he said stubbornly and shook off Heero's hand. It wasn't far, which is probably why Duo made it on his own. Once he reached the blanket he eased himself down onto it and curled up on his side, facing away from Heero.

The Wing pilot looked down in concern at the boy knowing something was wrong, but his friend seemed reluctant to tell him why he was upset. He was still trying to figure out this friendship thing that the others were striving to teach him. He had come tonight believing Duo would want some companionship, especially after his ordeal. Hadn't Duo told him friends looked out for each other? 

"Are you angry with me?" he asked perplexed at the way Duo was behaving. "Do you want me to leave?"

Duo shook his head. "I'm not mad at you....please stay."

"Then tell me what is wrong? Instinctively he reached out and stroked the chestnut hair.

"I'm mad at myself." he whispered. "I was so weak and I let you down." he said quietly.

"No, you let no one down." Heero assured him.

Duo spun around quickly, anger in his face. "I let those goons overpower me and I couldn't escape. Then I showed my greatest fear to my enemies and friends."

"You feel shame." Heero said as he kept analyzing the situation.

"Damn right!" Duo hissed and turned away again.

"You shouldn't." Heero said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You can't help how you feel, and everyone has some phobia. Most of the time, you control yours."

"What are you afraid of, Heero?" Duo spat sarcastically. Then with a wave of his hand he dismissed the question. "Never mind, I know you fear nothing, even death."

"That use to be true." Heero answered thoughtfully. "All fear was programmed out of me in my training, but that's not the case anymore."

Duo turned to look back at him, his anger draining away replaced by a curiousness. "What could you be afraid of?' he asked.

"If I tell you, it would be a weakness and I might have to kill you."

Duo looked at his friend not knowing if Heero meant it as a joke or if he was serious. "I trusted you with my phobia." he said with a hint of hurt in his voice. "I would never betray a friend."

The Japanese boy seemed to think about it for a few moments. "I'm not the perfect soldier anymore." he admitted quietly as if ashamed of the admission.

"No one is perfect." Duo replied.

"A perfect soldier," Heero continued, "doesn't care about anyone or anything but accomplishing the mission objective. But you....and the others....have changed me. I didn't know about friendship, caring, holding and being held for comfort. My weakness is....." he stopped.

"It's us, isn't it." Duo finished for him.

"Hai." he said so quietly that Duo didn't know if he really heard him. "I don't want to lose any of my friends....especially,,,,,,my closest friend. It makes me....hesitate when assigning missions. I've become more cautious when planning, take less chances to achieve objectives."

Duo reached over and gripped his friend's forearm. "It's not a liability or a weakness, Heero. Your caring for someone, for us, me, has become a strength, an asset to your list of abilities and attributes."

"How so?" he looked completely perplexed.

"Because you care, you plan better to survive, for all of us to survive. If something should happen to even one of us, we are weakened." He looked into his friend's eyes and asked, "Why did you come after me, when you knew it would delay the mission?"

Heero shifted. "We need you for the mission and you are an excellent pilot." he answered simply.

"And..."

"You were....distressed..."

"And...."

Heero paused not knowing what the baka wanted from him. He closed his eyes examining the other reasons why they rescued him.

"You are our friend." he said before he opened his eyes and narrowed them. "and no one messes with us. If they do, they will pay."

"Damn right!" Duo said a smile growing on his face. "and....."

Heero sighed. "You would do it for me. I could do not less and remain your friend." he finished.

"Because we all feel the same." Duo said firmly. "We have become a team. Individually, we were strong and determined. But together, we are stronger, smarter, more determined. Because now, there's more to lose."

Heero nodded accepting the words of the other boy, his friend. He looked into the face filled with kindness for him. "You need to sleep."

"Can you stay, or do you need to go back.?" Duo asked as he settled himself down again.

"I can stay until an hour before sunrise."

Duo nodded. Several minutes of silence passed.

"You still feel badly." Heero observed.

"Yeah." Duo said. "I jeopardized the mission by my inability to control myself. And it's hard to come to terms that everyone knows your weaknesses."

"Trowa said she had it out for from the beginning." Heero told him. "She had her sights you, and I don't think you could have escaped what she had in store for you no matter how well you behaved. Kyle said she targets your personality type."

"So, you're not mad at me?" Duo asked dubious.

"No." Heero replied. "I am angry that a few people can control so many with fear and that they have the power to abuse those under their charge."

Even in the dim light, Heero could see Duo's eyes light up. "We're going to do something about it, aren't we?"

Heero allowed a small smile to creep across his face as he mimicked his friend's mannerisms. "Damn right!" he replied.

TBC


	8. part 8

The School From Hell

By: Dyna Dee

Part 8

Sunday was, as usual, a relatively quiet day on campus. A strategy meeting was held in Heero's room after lunch.

"How is he?" Trowa asked as soon as the door closed. They hadn't seen Heero all morning and hadn't had a report from him.

"Better." he replied. "He was dehydrated when I saw him, but he was much better by the time I left before dawn this morning."

"I gave him plenty of water." Quatre said confused by Duo's condition.

"The room was easily 110 degrees yesterday. Some of the water he used to cool himself. I told him to lift the attic door to let the cool air in when the temperature got too uncomfortable."

Wufei's head shot up. "Did you check for wiring on the door?" he asked.

Heero frowned. "No, but we didn't concern ourselves....." he stopped. Of course they didn't concern themselves with any security wiring, the power had been out making any security system ineffective.

"Trowa, did the security room have exterior perimeter wires set?"

The Heavyarm pilot looked startled. "They did for windows and doors on all levels. I'm sure it wasn't on the vents, but I don't know about the attic door."

"Quatre." Heero looked to the blonde. 

The Arabian closed his eyes, understanding what Heero was asking. "I don't feel anything." he replied and his brows creased together in a frown. "That's odd....." his voice trailed off.

"What is?" Trowa asked.

"I should feel something, but unless he's in a deep, dreamless sleep....it's like he isn't there."

Heero stiffened. "Do you think something is wrong?" he asked.

Quatre nodded, his face a portrait of worry. "Duo is always a lively life force, a bundle of energy and emotions. I can always sense him. Something has happened if I can't." 

Heero turned and moved to stand by the window. The other three exchanged anxious glances at each other. 

"They have messed with us once too often." Heero said to no one in particular, but his voice was deadly and cold.

"We should strike now, openly for everyone to see what is going on here." Quatre said, his face becoming flushed with the rising anger he felt.

"Yes." Heero agreed then turned to his friends, his facial expression was deadly. "Wufei, I want you to go to the attic, the same way we did Friday night. Make sure Duo is not just sleeping. If he is, check on his condition and reassure him all is well. If he is missing, signal us and give us five minutes, then set the attic space on fire."

Wufei acknowledged the order with a nod.

"Trowa" Heero turned to that pilot. "I want you to go to the security room. If it's possible I want you to see where they took him. I suspect that he is in the same room. If they put him back in that box, I will kill them."

Trowa nodded. "I'll gladly do it for you." He said in earnest.

"Quatre," the blonde looked up expectantly. "you will intercept Wufei's signal. If Duo is gone, you signal to me in front of the administration building, then call the fire department after you see smoke. We want to make sure the fire will do some damage. I'll direct them to the room so they can be official witnesses as to what has been going on around here. I want you to go to the parking lot and get us a car. Wufei will be your backup as soon as he is out of the attic." Heero looked at Wufei as he gave him his second assignment.

"When do we move?" Wufei asked looking like a cat about to pounce, a spark of fierceness in his eyes.

"Now." Heero told them. "Pack you things. We'll leave during the confusion, haul ass to our gundams, and hit the base early tomorrow morning. Any questions?"

Quatre had plenty, but he was going into soldier mode and would follow Heero's orders to the best of his ability. He worried about hot wiring the car, though. That was not in his area of expertise, though Duo and Trowa had been teaching them some of the lessons they had learned on the streets and in the ranks of mercenaries, stealing a car was just one of the things they had been tutored in. Today was the final test. He wouldn't let them down. In fact, he would pick out a nice car, just for Duo.

"If by any chance we are separated, meet back at the gundams by midnight. If anyone is caught, extract immediately." 

They all nodded, their faces a study in deadly seriousness.

"You have ten minutes to pack." They all looked at their watches. "This operation commences at exactly twelve forty-two." With a look up at the others Heero nodded. "Go!"

Walking causally towards the administration building, Wufei noticed a few extra cars in the parking lot. Usually on Saturday and Sunday it was nearly empty with only a car or two owned by a member of the security, a janitor, or a teacher. Today, there were a dozen cars. The campus looked relatively deserted, which was good for the operation because he would look very suspicious climbing up a rope and entering a vent in broad daylight. It didn't matter though. He would not see anyone here again. He dropped his bag and unzipped it, pulling out the launcher. It looked pretty wicked with the sharp pointed metal arrow pointing out from the nozzle. He looked upward and shot it close to where he had pierced the roof line before. In less than two minutes, he was inside the attic. Taking the flashlight out of his pocket, he moved towards the plank of plywood. All that lay there were the bags of groceries. Duo was gone as well as his duffel bag and blankets. He returned quickly and leaned out the opening to where he could see Quatre waiting for his signal. Holding his fist out, the message was sent that Duo was gone.

Moving back to the plywood, he waited the five minutes before he took out a can of aerosol hair spray from his jacket pocket, flipped off the top, and in the other hand brought out a lighter. Depressing the hair spray button, he ignited the lighter. Together it produced a spray of fire that set the bags of good and the plywood on fire. He retreated back to the vent opening, lighting anything that would burn as he went. 

Throwing down the empty can, but pocketing the lighter, Wufei leapt onto the rope and slid quickly down . Removing a small remote mechanism from his pocket he depressed a button, the clamp firmly affixed to the roof, released upward. With a jerk, the rope and the collapsed hook fell to the ground. Gathering them quickly and throwing them into the bag he turned his head to see Quatre darting out of the dorm building towards the parking lot, his duffel bag over his shoulder. He walked around the corner just as Trowa opened the locked door of the administration building to let Heero in. With a last look upward, he was pleased to see black smoke bellowing out from the open vent. He strolled towards the parking lot where he would act as backup to Quatre as he "borrowed" a car.

"Two are down and bound in the security office. The security tape shows Duo being dragged unconscious from the closet at 8:28 a.m. He is in the same room with the two goons, the battle axe, and two security types." Trowa reported as soon as he let Heero into the building. "They entered and left the room a few times, but they're all in there now."

Heero pulled a canister from out of his nylon jacket pocket. "This will insure they stay there until the fire department arrives."

Trowa took the oval shaped canister that fit in the palm of his hand. He studied it for a moment, then nodded. Turning, he took the stairs three at a time.

Heero listened to the fading sound of Trowa's upward progress. He returned to the front door to see Quatre entering a previously locked car, Wufei keeping watch within a short distance from him. Beyond them in the distance, he could see the top of a fire truck and it's flashing lights.

Five minutes later, the firemen crashed through the door the Japanese boy had rushed them to. The room was filled with an odd smelling smoke, but not from the fire. A taller brunette boy had directed the team to the closet that held the opening of the attic.

Within the room, the firemen discovered six unconscious people; two large men that looked like body guards, two men dressed in security uniforms, a middle age woman, and shockingly a boy with a long braid dressed only in black, silk boxers hanging from the wall by handcuffs, his back bearing several fresh welts that looked to come from one of the larger men's belt, which lay discarded by the boy's feet. The adults lay on the floor, apparently having surrounded the youth when they lost consciousness.

As the fire was being fought above them, a crew of men struggled to carry the unconscious six from the room. A key was found in the curled fist of the woman and the boy was released from the handcuffs that bound his slender wrists. He was gently but swiftly carried down the stairs to the lawn outside the building. Paramedics appeared with a blanket which was wrapped around the slim body and he was gently set down on the grass. It was then that they began a quick examination of the boy to determine any damage done to him.

"He looks drugged." the paramedic said after lifting the boy's eyelids and examining his eyes. He checked the body and examined a large bruise forming on the left shoulder and noticed a small hole in the center. "The needle went in here. Definitely not self inflicted." he reported to his partner who wrote his comments down in his evaluation. "His wrists are cut and bruised and his mouth is also cut at the corners." The young man paused to look up at the fireman behind him who brought the boy out. "What the hell happened to him in there?" he demanded.

"Found him chained to the wall with those five surrounding him." He motioned to the bodies of the five unconscious adults. "Look at his back." he advised.

The paramedic gently turned him over. "Strap marks." he observed aloud for the record. He looked up and around the vicinity. "Better inform the police officer over there that this looks like a criminal matter." 

The fireman immediately turned and ran towards the police officers who were busy keeping the curious students safely away from the burning building and the injured people.

"Is he alright?" The paramedic looked up to see a Japanese boy standing next to him.

"You shouldn't be here, get back." He order the boy.

"I'm his roommate. They took him to the room on Friday and had him tied and locked in a metal box." the boy informed him.

"The room?" he questioned.

"It's where they found him, a kind of torture/break the spirit chamber. You need to see Ms. Haversand can't hurt anyone again." The boy had the most intense look and command in his voice.

"Have others been to this room?" The paramedic asked watching the serious boy while checking the unconscious boy's pulse.

"Yes, question the students. One boy never returned. It bears serious investigation."

"I'll make sure it is." He promised and was satisfied to see the boy nod back.

A luxury car with tinted windows pulled up just behind the fire truck, its presence was registered only by the standing boy.

"Your friend is stable, but pretty banged up. But his pulse is steady, but a bit too slow. I think he will be fine once the drugs wear out of his system.

"I can sit with him if you have to check on the others." the boy offered.

The paramedic looked hesitantly over at the others sprawled on the ground. There were only two paramedics and it wasn't fair to his partner for him to spend all his time on one person. "All right." he hesitantly agreed as he stood. "But let me know if he wakes up."

The boy nodded and knelt down next to his sleeping friend. As he walked towards his partner he looked back to see a tender expression cross the Japanese boy's face and he brushed an errant strand of hair from off the other's face. Satisfied the unconscious boy was safe, he continued on. Ten minutes later when he returned, he was shocked to find both boys had vanished.

TBC


	9. part 9

The School From Hell

By: Dyna Dee

Part 9, Conclusion

Duo woke up disoriented, confused and gasping at the sting on his back. "Damn!" was all he could get out as he lay on his side on the back seat of a car, his eyes still closed.

Wufei turned around at the sound. He had been sitting in the front seat of the car Quatre had stolen at the school, keeping watch over the other drugged teen. The others, just outside the car, heard his voice and rushed to open the doors.

Heero climbed into the back seat to check on his partner. Quatre got in the front seat, and Trowa hovered behind Heero.

"What happened?" Duo moaned miserably, his voice was thick and rough.

Heero told him what they had done to free him as Duo struggled to open his eyes. It was pretty obvious that the drugs were not out of his system.

"I remember waking up when something sharp hit my shoulder and someone dragging me off my blankets." the Deathscythe pilot complained.

"A drug." Heero explained to him. "That's one of the reasons you feel the way you do."

"The other reason?" Duo asked.

"We threw in a sleeper bomb, knocking the entire room out. You got a double dose, I'm afraid."

"I feel sick." He warned them. They all knew Duo didn't react well to drugs, he was extremely sensitive to them, and other than penicillin, he tried not to take them as they made him nauseous. 

He tried to sit up, the blanket falling behind him to reveal that he still wore only his boxers. That wasn't his main concern now. His head was throbbing, he felt like he was going to hurl, and his mouth tasted like a dirty sock had been shoved into it. His body was loudly complaining to him that it hurt, and his back was on fire. "Oh man, that hurt." he said and failed miserably as he tried to smile. "What happened to my back?"

"I think they were using unconventional means to wake you up." Trowa answered. "When I tossed the sleeper bomb in I saw a man with a belt in his hand."

Duo nodded and managed to half open his eyes and look at his surroundings. "Nice car." he murmured, miserably appreciative. He ran a hand over the soft leather seat.

"I picked it out especially for you Duo." Quatre said, his blue/green eyes shining.

"You hot wired it?" Duo asked tilting his head slightly to see his blonde friend.

"Yes, I did!" Quatre smiled brightly and proud of his accomplishment. "It's Ms. Haversand's." he added.

A small smile grew on Duo's face. "See Wufei," He looked forward to that boy studying him intently. "there is justice in the world after all."

"True justice will be when those responsible for your insult and injury are incarcerated." he replied resolutely. "I just wish I could have given them a taste of the fear they caused those students." he spat out.

"We'll leave that to the authorities." Heero said firmly, leaving no room for any talk of retaliation.

Duo closed his eyes again as he felt the deep lethargy stealing over him again. Heero's arm came around him as he swayed and he gasped as it touched the tender skin on his back.

"Sorry." Hero apologized.

"Sokay." Duo mumbled as he began to fade. "Ummmm, tired." he yawned.

Heero eased his body down on the seat so he lay on his side once again, his head found a pillow on the Wing pilot's thigh. He felt the blanket drawn over his bare shoulders. "Go ahead and sleep, Duo. We'll guard your sleep." the deep voice above assured him. With an audible sigh, he let himself slide into the cradle of sleep. The warmth under his cheek and the hand gently stroking his hair reassured him that he was indeed safe.

He awoke some time later, shivering as he stretched out as the cold leather seat helped him to come out of the deep, drug induced sleep he had been in. Pulling the blanket around him, to warm his chilled body, he listened for the others. Nothing. He cautiously eased himself up and looked out the car windows. He was in the forest. He tried to recall the day before, but it was just a vague blur. He only remembered a sleepy conversation the night before. "Guard your sleep." he remembered Heero's voice. "But where are they?" The doors to the car were locked and leaning forward, he saw the keys in the ignition. On the dashboard, a piece of paper caught his attention. He leaned over the front seat, losing the blanket in the movement. The ache from his back reminded him of his condition, but it seemed more tolerable than it had been when he first woke. The note was written in a bold penmanship that could only be from Heero, as were the words. "Mission. Stay. Will return."

"Man, I must have really have been out of it to sleep through the take off of four gundams." he murmured to himself as he scratched the top of his head.

His stomach growled and he grabbed at his mid section, hoping to relieve the gnawing hunger growing within him. He pulled the blanket back over his shoulders. Next to him, in the crack of the seat, was a bottle of water and a couple of nutrition bars.

"Yuck!" his face grimaced as he thought about Heero's choice of snack food. "We'll, at least he left something." he thought grimly, trying to see the bright side of the situation. How he longed for the bag full of treats Quatre had purchased for him.

The sun was overhead when he finally succumbed to his gnawing hunger and ate one of the nasty tasting nutrition bars. He looked to the sky. "Whey are they?" he worried aloud. At least one of them should have returned for him by now, he reasoned.

The afternoon had warmed, but it was still a bit cooler in the shade of the forest. He kept the blanket firmly around his body as frustration welled up inside him. He didn't have a laptop or any way to know how the mission progressed. He didn't know where the next safe house was, and without his things, he wasn't sure what direction Deathscythe was hidden. He needed to get his bearings. He yelled out loud his frustration and several birds flew from the trees and small animals scampered away. "Damn it, Heero!" He shouted "You should have left me some clothes. Where the hell am I suppose to go in my boxers?"

Turning in anger, he went back to the car, his braid flying furiously behind him. Sitting down in the driver's seat, he turned on the car keys and the radio came on. He fooled with the buttons until he came to a news station.

Laying his head back against the headrest and closing his eyes, he listened to the report of the attack on the base. Base officials reported to the media that terrorists attacked the facilities and computers, destroying years of research and then a partial destruction of the military compound The number of Oz causalities and injuries were reported as well a follow up that two terrorists had been injured, one of them had been captured, and detained for only a few moments before a gundam ripped off the top of the building and freed him.

Duo leaned forward and rested his forehead against the steering wheel. Two injured. Who? Which one of his friends, he wondered? He had been so far out of the loop on the planning of this mission that he had no idea of the details; who was to infiltrate and who was backup? His mind calculated that he and Heero would have gone in to retract the information from the computers and then destroy them. Whoever went in his place was injured. No doubt after their retreat they would have gone to the next safehouse to deal with the wounded. He would have to stay here until they could get back to him.

Local news was reported next, and the major headline was that of the scandal beginning to form around the Briddlewood Academy for Boys. The radio news announcer detailed the fire and reported that six people were pulled from the building. One boy, apparently found handcuffed and unconscious and apparently beaten was missing. Yet accounts from rescue workers and paramedics along with interviews from students led to the immediate arrest of the schools administrator, and several security and paid employees.

The reporter went on to say that a search was in progress to find several missing boys, who obviously fled the school during the fire. 

Duo turned off the radio with a mixed feeling. He was glad Briddlewood was being investigated, but he worried for his friends. Weighing his options, he determined to wait another day. If no one came for him, he'd sneak into the nearest town, break into a business and use their computers to contact the others.

Turning the key in the ignition, he pulled it out. Getting out of the car, he went to the trunk and inserted it into the lock, opening it. He wasn't surprised to find it neat and orderly. A lone box was shoved against the back. He pulled it forward and opened it.

Inside he found women's clothing; a purple, fleece-lined jacket, a matching sleeveless sweater, a pair of white, elastic waist polyester pants, white ankle socks, and a pair of white tennis shoes with rhinestones imbedded above the toes. Beneath the clothing he found a flashlight, flares, and a first aid kit. Ms. Haversand was quite the prepared girl scout.

Looking at the contents with dismay, he suddenly looked up startled as a thought came to him. Turning around and cupping his hand around his mouth he yelled. "Okay you guys. I'm on to you. This is a joke right?" He waited for a moment, hoping for an answer. "Come on guys!" he pleaded. His slender shoulders slumped as the forest remained silent. "Geeze!" he slammed the lid of the trunk down. "Not until I am absolutely, positively desperate." he said firmly.

Desperation hit around two a.m.

Shaking from the cold, he opened the back car door and went to the trunk. With reluctance, he donned the offensive garments. They were all too large, but added some warmth. He returned back to the backseat of the car, curled up, pulling the blanket around him, and fell asleep.

His stomach growled loudly. "I'm gonna starve to death." he moaned wrapping his arms around his mid section as the hollowness of his stomach grew into a steady ache. He looked to the sky. The sun was well pass it's zenith and it looked to be mid afternoon. He decided he would wait another hour, then he would leave to find food and a computer.

He waited two hours, then reluctantly started the car and followed the tire tracks back out of the forest.

With the car safely parked and darkness having fallen, the pilot of Deathscythe cuffed up the legs of this white polyester pants. Reaching behind him, he pulled his braid forward and released the band on the end. Pulling his fingers through the braid, his hair flowed in ripples over the purple fleece jacket. With a shudder and a glint of determination in his eye, he walked into the grocery store.

Fifteen minutes later, he was walking down the main street of the small town. For the moment, he was pleased with the purple jacket as it elastic stuffed sleeves held quite a lot of pilfered food. He took a bite of the small chocolate pie and hummed in satisfaction. The pre-made deli sandwich would soon follow. He stopped in front of a small store to peruse it's decorative window. It was a travel agency. The windows had pamphlets and pictures of many beautiful, exotic, and far away places. He sighed. "One day." he promised himself. "And not through the eyes of Shinigami."

Within ten minutes he had scouted out the building, front and back door, glass front window, four side windows and the jackpot, a sky light. It took very little effort to force open the top of the skylight. In fact, it broke off. He ripped off the screen and lowered himself, feet first, through the opening and dropped to the floor. Walking over to the water dispenser, he pulled down a paper cup from the side holder, filled it up four times, quickly emptying each cup full. He filled it again and sat down at a desk not directly in front of the store window, but one with a computer on top. Turning it on, he pulled the ham and turkey sandwich out of his left sleeve. He frowned at it as one side of it had been smashed. Unwrapping it, he took several large bites while his right hand began to type away at the computer.

He e-mailed Heero, knowing the Wing pilot was almost always at his computer. He sat back and waited watching his own e-mail site. An hour passed and still no answer. His brow furrowed in worry. "Could he have been the one who was hurt, and if so...he must be really hurt to not be scanning him computer for messages.

He waited until a half hour before sunrise. Erasing any sign of his use of the computer and presence in the room, he stacked chairs to reach the skylight and pulled himself up and out. Couldn't do anything about the chairs or fixing the skylight, so he didn't worry about it. He would be out of town before anyone discovered that something was amiss.

He jogged through the empty streets back to the car. He now had his bearings and could find Deathscythe. He would wait there until someone contacted or came for him. He reached into his pockets to warm his cold hands, then stopped cold as a bright beam of light flashed on him from behind the car. He turned slowly, his violet eyes squinting, blinded by the light.

A snort of laughter came from behind it. 

"What do you want?" Duo asked harshly.

He heard the clearing of a throat before a familiar voice asked, "What don't you understand about the word stay."

As his face flushed hot and red, the Deathscythe pilot buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Just shoot me now." His head snapped up at the metallic sound of a gun being cocked. "Geeze Heero, cut that out." he snapped as the flashlight light beam traveled up and down his body.

"Umm, nice ....ensemble." Heero observed with a hint of humor in his voice.

"Well if you would have left me with some clothes and food, I wouldn't have to resort to..." he pulled at the jacket showing his obvious distaste for the outfit, "such drastic measures." he fumed.

Heero looked at the sky, choosing not to reply. "Come on, it's almost light." he motioned to the car. It took only a few moments before the two young men were headed down the road, Heero behind the wheel.

Duo looked over at his traveling companion. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

'The radio mentioned someone was wounded."

"Wufei and Quatre."

"Will they be alright?" Fear clenched at Duo's heart, afraid of the answer, but needing to know was imperative.

"Hai."

Relief flooded him at Heero's words. "Wufei went in with me and it was on the way out he was shot in the shoulder and foot. Quatre was guarding our retreat when he was shot in the hip and captured. Trowa went in with Heavyarms and retrieved him. We had to tend to their wounds before I could come back." he explained.

"I figured something was wrong." Duo said closing his tired eyes. "I don't know what was worse, worrying about what went wrong and who was hurt, or being stranded alone, in my underwear, and starving." he yawned.

"I assume you got something to eat?" Heero questioned him.

'Yeah." he answered, and with his eyes still closed, he reached into the inner sleeve of the jacket he wore and pulled out a package of stick beef jerky. "Want some?" he offered holding it out.

"No thanks." 

"How'd ya find me anyway?" Duo asked as his hands began to search through his pockets.

"Logic." Heero replied. "I knew you would be hungry and anxious about us not returning. When you weren't at the original site, I went to the nearest town and searched for the car. After I found it , I waited. If you hadn't arrived by mid morning, I was going to go back to Deathscythe. You would show up there sooner or later."

"Damn!" disgust sounded in Duo's voice as he turned the jacket pockets inside out.

"What's the matter?"

"I lost my hair band."

After a few moments, Heero spoke up again. "Makes a good disguise."

'What?" Duo asked sleepily.

"Your hair down, the clothing."

"Hummm.

"We'll have to use that to our advantage."

Duo's eyes opened wide with apprehension. "What do you mean?"

Heero didn't even blink or hesitate. "You can pass as a girl."

"No way." the long haired boy stated adamantly. "Just because my hair is long doesn't mean I like to dress like a girl."

Heero didn't reply.

"Did you hear me, Heero?" Duo asked hotly. " I said NO WAY."

"Why don't you rest" Heero replied calmly. "I'll wake you when we get there."

With a piercing look, Duo pulled the mass of hair over his shoulder and pulled the jacket he was wearing close about him. "No way." he repeated as he hunkered down, sulking between the corner of the door and the seat.

As soon as he awoke, he sat up and looked about wildly. The car was stopped once again in the woods. His eyes lit happily on Deathscythe, next to it stood Wing. A large smile grew on his face. He opened the car door and stood, stretching his aching limbs. "Heero!" he called out. The front hatch on Wing was open and the other boy's head popped out.

"You didn't wake me." Duo scolded lightly.

"You were tired. Heero answered.

"Did you bring food and clothing?

Heero answered by tossing out a back pack. Duo caught it easily and quickly opened it. It was full of food, a brush, toothbrush, and water. Duo looked up in disbelief. "No clothes?"

"Sorry, I forgot." Heero called out from inside his gundam where he quickly shoved the black clothing into a compartment behind the pilot's chair. Hearing movement outside, he quickly shut his laptop and his message to the other pilots of their ETA, and a hint that if they stayed up, they would be in for a surprise, at Duo's expense. 

A moment later Duo appeared at the hatch opening, his eyes searching the cockpit frantically. "You never forget anything." he declared his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"I concentrated on the food. I knew you would be hungry. Besides, I had my hands full with Quatre and Wufei."

Duo sighed deeply as Heero hid the smile that wanted so badly to burst out on his face at the others predicament.

"You look good in purple." he mentioned casually as he eyed the outfit Duo wore. "You should wear that color more often." he added, even though Duo was giving him a look that warned him not to push it.

"I like black." The long hair boy said tersely.

Heero shrugged. "Just one word of advise then." He looked into the violet eyes. "Never wear black boxers with white leggings."

The animals in the clearing looked up startled as the sounds of fighting erupted in the cockpit of the gundam.

  
  


End

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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